Sanitary apparatus for toilet doors



Sept. 18; 1945. L J. MENGES SANITARY APPARATUS FOR TOILET DOORSSheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 8, 1943.

ATTORNEY Sept. 18,1945. L. J. MENGES SANITARY APPARATUS FOR TOILET DOORSFiled Oct. 8, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2l INVENTOR ,.J Mas/afs l Q, af`-, @ial ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 18, 1945 UNITED STATES PATEN T nOF F I CE l42,384,949 v 1sANIf-rzlmy APPARATUS FOR .ufoILEm moons Louis J. Menges,Montclair,.N. J. p Application october s, 1943;'-`se1-'ia1 N0.505,481

s6 Claims.

'The present invention relates `to sanitary or antiseptic apparatus andmore particularly to such apparatus vfor the doors of toilets and otherpublic places.

It vhas long 'been recognized that in the interest lof public health'sanitation Yis 'of 'prime f importance and that by the practice ofpersonal 'hygiene the spread oi `communicable diseases can lbegreat'lycurtailed. Although 'this is cornmon knowledge `and the vgreat majorityof -the Ipublic 'are inclined to practice cleanliness and hygiene thereare, nevertheless, many persons l'who through carelessness orthoughtlessness `fail to do so Aat times. This is particularly true ininstances -where 'persons 4use public toilets and often forget -to Washtheir hands. In 'the preparation 'of food `products 4such as in canningfac- Itori-es, bakeries and the like, many precautions are taken toprovide the most sanitary condi tions but 'there is always present thehuman le- 4ment which `"through carelessness can .practically 4nulli'fythese conditions.

Elt lis `accordingly an object of the present invent-ion to 'provide asanitation apparatus for toilet Adoors or enclosures which ejects anantiseptic -or colored liquid on the hand of the user upon uniasteningof the toilet door so thatailure to wash the'han'ds `can be readilydetected.

Another yobject of the present invention is the provision o a sanitationapparatus for toilet ated `upon unfastening of the `door latch to ejecta spray of antiseptic or colored liquid onto the hand of the user sothat failure to wash the lhand-s after-use of the toilet can be readilyde- 'tected either by 'the color of the Aliquid on the fh-Iand T or theresulting obnoxious odor.

in further object -of the present invention is the provision of asanitary apparatus for 'toilet doors or enclosures wherein an antisepticor `color-eel iiuid is 'automatically sprayed upon the hand of the 'userby the operation -of the door lla'tch Ito A`unies-ten the 'door 'orenclosure.

Still other objects of the present `invention will become obvious tothose vskilled in the art by reterence 'to the accompanying drawingsWhere- Fig. l is :an elevational view of va toilet door lin its 'closedand latched position 'and showing 'the sanitary apparatus of the presentinvention attached thereto;

2 is a sectional fview on an enlarged scale talcen en .the l-ine :II-IIo'f Fig. l Aand Vshowing thev sani-tary apparatus -aiflfached to thetoilet door `and foaming a par-t of va door vlatch -of well knowndesign.;

lFig. 3 is -a 'sectional lview taken on the line "III-ITI df Fig. \2,;

'Fig -4 iis 'a sectional `view taken on the line -ll-V---IV of Fig Fig.5 is Aan elevational view 'showing a modilcation 'which the sanitaryapparatus of the presen-t invention may take andas applied 4to a doorlatch "of 'the sliding bolt type, 'and Eig. 6 "is a perspective view ofan operating "part df the apparatus as shown in Fig. 5.

'Referring now to the drawings'in detail a toilet 'door r5 of well known'design is "shown hinged to la post l'i and latch'ed `in 'closedposition to anotnerpos't 'l, the '-side 'walls f8 completing theenclosure. Attached to the door 5 is the sanita'tion apparatus 9 oi thepresent invention and which can be better understood by reference Vtofthe more l'cleta'iled showing of Figs. 2 to 4 inelusive. p

-s shown -ifnth-ese latter figures the door l is provided with lala'tchlll mortised'therein which @includes la `li-nolo ft2 fsecured in "thecustomary manne-r 'by va 'stscreW `|3 to a square 'shaft M. Surrounding'this shaft "is fa l'collar T5 journalled for @rotation inthe closure`plates I6 `ano 'l'il and i provided 'with an integral laterallyextending projection ll (Fig. fThe 'free end of this projection Hl:engages a projection il? (Fig. '8) extending normally from a lslidingbar "20 movable between guile posts 22 with such sliding doors r'orenclosures which is automatically 'operl"ll han being E150 llfwd'd "withan angularly projecting base mem-ber '23 Tor-'a purpose hereinafter-ielescribed .-A fcamM' is pivotedat '25 to the closure plate '46 withone kenl thereof engaging the top ni the sliding bar 42U and 'the otherVend piuotally 4connected :to theilatch bar 'Z'G, 'the latter 'of whichmoves between guide postsZ'l and is biased in ?position to cause 'thelatching member v7.18 :toenterfthe keeper 29 :int'lfe 'post l, by a coil.spning "30.

'Theiconstructiontlrus far described constitutes .the customaryllioorrlatch Y:mechanism so that upon :rota-tion :'off the door rlcnobl2 the projection `lf3 .raises "the :projection k|79 and hence thesliding lbar .2-0. Since fthe pivoted cam 24 'engages the sliding bar`Ztl y:raising of the :latter causes "clockwise rotation of the cam 24about its pivot 2.5 moving `the 'latch :bafrZG to the right, 'as viewedfrom Figs. 3 and 4, with attendant withdrawal .of the latching member 2%`from the keeper 429 against the tension of spring 30, and enabling theuser to `open -do'or San-d 4enter the toilet enclosure.

-When `it -is desired to leave the toiletenclosure the raser fdepressesa lever arm 3'2 pivoted to an escutcheonfplate. This leveriarni 32'extends in door and is automatically operated by the latch.

mechanism to spray the hand of the user only upon operation of the latchlfrom the inside of.

the toilet door and while the hand is on thelatch operating member. Tothis end theA latch i6 is provided with a reservoir 35 having adetachable plug 36 to enable lling of the reservoir with an antiseptic,colored, or obnoxious fluid 31'.

For the purpose of ejecting a spray of the fluid 31 on the hand of theuser, an outlet 38, which is normally closed by a valve 39, is providedimmediately above the latch operating lever arm or member 32. The valve39 is attached to a stem 4Q extending upwardly through a piston 42 and acoil spring 43, disposed lbetween a shoulder 44 on the interior of thepiston and a tensioning nut assembly 45, maintains the valve 39 normallyin its seat within the outlet 38. To open this valve 39 the end 34 ofthe lever arm 32 engages a base member 46, similar to the base member23, which is carried by a sliding bar 41 movable between guide posts 48.This latter sliding bar 41 is also provided with a normally extendingprojection 49 having an adjustable set) screw 50 secured thereto.

As can be seen more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3 this set screw 50 contactsone end of a rocker arm 52 pivoted at 53 and which is biased intocontact ...f

with the set screw 50 by a coil spring 54. The other end of the rockerarm is bifurcated, as shown in Fig. 4, with its longitudinal axisaligning with that of the lever arm 32 disposed below the reservoir. arm52 are provided with pins 55 (Fig. 4) engaging an annular groove 56 inthe piston 42 and an adjustable guide pin 51 slidable in the wall of thereservoir maintains the piston 42 in fixed position within the reservoir35.

Accordingly, upon depressing of .the lever arm 32 to operate the latchin the manner previously described such lever arm also raises. the basemember 46. This in turn raises the sliding bar Ying member constitutingthe lever arm 32. .l5

The bifurcated ends of the rocker .a

41 together with its projection 49 and adjustable 1 set screw 50, andsince this set screw contacts the rocker arm 52 the adjacent end of thelatter is also raised against the tension of the coil spring 54.Rotation of the rocker arm 52 about its pivot 53 thus follows'causingdownward movement of the piston 42 aided somewhat by the tension of thespring 43 which also serves to keep the valve 39 closed during initialmovement of the piston 42. Moreover, the spring 43 more or lesscounter-balances the tension exerted by the spring 54 thus enabling freeand easy movement of the piston 42 with the expenditure of very littleeiort on the part of the user when depressing the lever arm 32.

Downward movement of the piston 42 continues until the lower end thereofcloses a small chamber 58 formed by a reduced diameter portion in thereservoir immediately in back of the valve 39 thereby applying pressureto the small quantity of uid 31 thustrapped therein. However, since the:duid 31 naturally cannot be corn-y pressed the pressure created by thepiston 42 closing the small chamber 58 forces the valve 39 open therebyejecting under pressure a ne spray of the small quantity of uid 31within this small chamber. Following initial opening of the valve 39 bythe pressure exerted by the piston 42 the valve is held in an openposition by the engagement of the guide pin 51 which is so adjusted thatthe end thereof extending interiorly of the piston 42 engages theend ofthe valve stem 40.

Thus this small quantity of uid in the form of a fine spray is ejectedover practically the entire hand kof the user while it is on the latchoperat- Upon release of this lever arm 32 all moving parts are 'restoredto normal position by gravity and the springs 43 and 54. The fluid 31being an obnoxious antiseptic or a colored liquid removable only bywashing can thus beV immediately detected reminding the user tothoroughly wash his hands before returning to his normal pursuits.

ln Figs. 5 and 6 a slight modification of the present invention is shownwith the apparatus applied to a door latch of the sliding bolt typefrequently employed on toilet doors normally remaining open when not inuse. `By reference to these latter gures the latch is shown ascomprising a plate 65 fastened to the inside of the toilet door 5 bysuitable screws 62. Such plate -is provided with a raised channel 63 inwhich a bolt latch 64 slides by the user grasping a latch operatingmember such as a knob 65 extending through a slot 66 in the channelmember 63 thereby moving the right hand end of the bolt into and out ofa slot formed in the post 1.

The sanitation apparatus of this modification comprises a cylinder 61containing an antiseptic fluid. under pressure and which can be readilyobtained on thek market. A removable band hanger 68 secures the cylinderto a plate 69 of substantially L-shape which is also secured to theinside of the toilet door 5 by suitable means such as screws 10 so as todispose the cylinder outlet 12 immediately above the grasping knob 65.This latter plate 69 is provided with a notch 13 to allow movement ofthe bolt latch 64 therein with the adjacent end of the bolt latch beingprovided with a pin 14 passing through a slot 15 in an arm 16 pivoted at11 to the plate 69. Consequently upon sliding movement of the bolt latch64 movement of the pin 14 within the slot 15 causes arcuate movement ofthe free end of the pivoted arm 16.

A rocker arm 18 is pivoted at 19'to the plate 69 which is formed of twoover-lapping parts 8U and 82 partially rotatable with respect to eachother about the pivot 19. In the normal position of the rocker arm oneend is biased against a stop 83 by a coil spring 84 While the other endis disposed in the path of arcuate movement of a projecting pin 85carried by the free end of the pivoted arm 16. Upon unlocking of thelatch bolt 54, by movement to the left as shown in Fig. 5,counter-clockwise rotation of the arm 16 about its pivot 11 occurs withthe result that the pin 85 engages the section 82 of the rocker arm 18causing rotation of the latter about its pivot 19 against the tension ofspring 84. The section of the rocker arm 18 simultaneously moves aboutthe pivot 194 until it engages a valve button 86 on the cylinder 61, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, thus opening the outlet 12 withattendant ejection of a spray of antiseptic fluid on the hand of theuser. By this time the pin on the end Of pivoted arm 16 will havereached the limit of its arcuate movement in one direction which isbeyond an engaging position with the section 82 of the rocker arm 18allowing the latter to return to its normal position, as shown by thefull lines in Fig. 5, under the action of the spring 84.

Since there is no necessity for causing the ejection of a spray of iiuidduring locking of the latch bolt 64 the lower section 82 of the rockerarm 18 is arranged to partially rotate about the pivot 19 independent ofany movement of the other section 80. Thus upon movement of the latchbolt 64 to the right for the purpose of locking the door the pin 85carried by the pivoted arm 16 will again engage the section 82 of therocker arm 18. However, counter-clockwise rotation of rocker arm section80 about its pivot 18 is prevented by the stop 83. The remainingfsection 82 nevertheless moves counter-clockwise about the pivot 19 sinceit is provided with an arcuate slot 81, as shown in Fig. 6, one end ofwhich normally engages a set screw 88 extending laterally from a bushing89 forming an integral part of the section 80, which thus allowsrotation of the section 82 about the bushing 89 and pivot 19 withcomplete rotation being prevented by the other end of the arcuate slot81. However, prior to the end of the arcuate slot engaging the set screw88, the pin 85 on the pivoted arm 16 will have passed beyond engagingposition with the rocker arm 18 allowing return of the section 82 to itsnormal position by the aid of a leaf spring 90. When in its normalposition the set screw 88 rests against the opposite end of the arcuateslot 81, as shown in Fig. 5, thus enabling both sections 80 and 82 to berotated simultaneously in a clockwise direction about the pivot 19 withattendant automatic operation of the antiseptic apparatus simultaneouslywith unfastening of the door latch as above described.

It thus becomes obvious to those skilled in the art that a sanitaryapparatus particularly for the doors of toilet enclosures is hereinshown and described which is automatically operable by the door latch toeject a spray of antiseptic, colored,

or obnoxious fluid under pressure on the hand of L a user. Inasmuch asthe iiuid is readily detectable by its color or odor and can be removedfrom such a large area as the hand only by thorough washing it serves toprevent the forgetting of this act of personal hygiene. Moreover, suchapparatus can be readily installed on existing toilet doors and on thegate of a railing enclosing urinals with facility and desirable results.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described it is to be understood that other modifications thereofmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

l. A sanitary apparatus for the door of a toilet enclosure comprising adispensing means secured to the inside of the door directly adjacent theinside operator for the door latch, said dispensing means being operatedby means which are actuated by said inside operator for the latch.

2. A sanitary apparatus for the door of a toilet enclosure comprising adispensingmeans secured to the inside of the door directly adjacent theinside operator for the door latch, and means.

actuated by said inside operator for the door latch to cause saiddispensing means to release a quantity of fluid on the hand of onemanipulating the inside operator for the door latch.

3. A sanitary apparatus for the door of a tcilet enclosure comprising adispensing means secured to the inside of the door directly adjacent theinside operator for the door latch, and means actuated by said insideoperator for the door latch only during unlatching movement of thelatter to cause said dispensing means to release a quantity of fluid onthe hand of one manipulating the inside operator for the door latch tounlatching position.

4. A sanitary apparatus for the door of a toilet enclosure comprising adispensing means containing a uid secured to the inside of the doordirectly adjacent the inside operator for the door latch and providedwith a valve, and mechanism connected to the valve of said dispensingmeans and actuated by said operator for the door latch to cause openingof the valve and the ejection of a spray of fluid on the hand of onemanipulating the inside operator for the door latch.

5. A sanitary apparatus for the door of a toilet enclosure comprising adispensing means containing a fluid secured .to 'the inside of the doordirectly adjacent the inside operator for the door latch and providedwith a valve, and mechanism connected to the valve of said dispensingmeans and actuated by said operator for the door latch only duringunlatching movement of the latter to cause opening of the valve and theejection of a spray of fluid on the hand of one manipulating the insideoperator for the door latch to unlatching position.

6. A sanitary apparatus for the door of a toilet enclosure comprising adispensing means containing a iiuid secured to the inside of the doordirectlyadjacent the inside operator for the door latch and providedwith a valve and piston therein, and mechanism connected to the pistonof said dispensing means and actuated by said operator for the doorlatch to cause movement of said piston and opening of the valve withattendant ejection of a spray of fluid on the hand of one manipulatingthe inside operator for the door latch.

C' LOUIS J. NIENGES.

